Shareholders boosted by asset sell-offs October 29, 2012 A HUGE spike in divestment activity by businesses has boosted shareholder returns through the recession, according to a report out today from Deloitte. Firms globally have divested more than $335bn (£208.1bn) of assets since 2008, with European firms accounting for 65 per cent of big sell-offs since the crisis began. The study looked at the [...]
Shareholders boosted by asset sell-offs October 29, 2012 A HUGE spike in divestment activity by businesses has boosted shareholder returns through the recession, according to a report out today from Deloitte. Firms globally have divested more than $335bn (£208.1bn) of assets since 2008, with European firms accounting for 65 per cent of big sell-offs since the crisis began. The study looked at the [...]
Medium-sized firms are the key to growth October 14, 2012 THE BUSINESS world is hiding a “squeezed middle” that should be encouraged to expand faster, according to research published today. Medium-sized businesses generate 16 per cent of jobs but represent just one per cent of UK companies, CBI figures cited by Deloitte show. And a lack of capital and trust caused by a nervous post-crisis [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 7, 2012 Deloitte Michael Lee has been appointed director of Deloitte’s analytics practice. He joins from Detica NetReveal, and is a specialist in using analytics to detect and prevent fraud and financial crime. HSBC Andy Clark has been appointed chief executive at HSBC’s UK asset management branch. He has worked for the bank since 2005, most recently [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs December 20, 2012 Squire Sanders The law firm has announced two appointments to its financial services practice group. Philippa Chadwick joins as a partner from Berwin Leighton Paisner, where she led its project finance team. Paula Laird joins as a banking and finance partner from Wragge & Co, where she was head of banking. Laird has also held [...]
Households get more confident as squeeze lifts October 22, 2012 THE TIGHT squeeze on household finances showed signs of loosening in October, data showed today, just as consumer sentiment improved to its best level in a year, according to separate figures. Household budgets were deteriorating at their slowest pace for two years in October, Markit said, as the UK climbs out of the second dip [...]
Who’s switching jobs December 19, 2012 Kleinwort Benson Nick Bennett has been appointed head of private wealth management in the private bank’s Guernsey office. He joins from Schroders Private Banking, where he was most recently head of private banking in the Channel Islands. Bennett has also held roles at Lloyds TSB. Development Securities The property investment firm has appointed Marcus Shepherd [...]
Developers given grace period from empty property rates December 5, 2012 A MOVE to grant retailers and developers a grace period free from paying empty rates on new buildings has been dismissed by industry insiders as “not going far enough”. The chancellor said yesterday that all newly built commercial property completed from October 2013 to September 2016 will be free from empty property rates for the [...]
Businesses call for VAT cut to boost tourism December 9, 2012 SLASHING VAT on tourist industries could grow the economy without cutting tax revenue, a tourist campaign group claimed yesterday. Using the Treasury’s own economic models, the British Hospitality Association (BHA) found that cutting VAT by 15 percentage points on tourism-related sales would deliver a £2.6bn windfall to the Treasury over 10 years. This is because [...]
City development activity rises December 4, 2012 THE CITY has seen a pick-up in construction activity in the past six months with several schemes achieving early pre-lets, according to the latest Drivers Jonas Deloitte crane survey released yesterday. While office developments in the capital remained flat in the second half, the survey showed “a marked increase” in space under construction in the [...]